Thread: Table Bowed on new H&F BP-305 [among other things]

Why are you all getting so hot under the collar?
Surely, the sensible thing to do is to contact Hare & Forbes and let them know there is a problem.
Their reputation for after-sales service is second to none.
If (which is unlikely), they are uncooperative, then you can start thinking about your legal rights and Consumer Affairs.
Talk about vigilante justice - they (H&F) have been hung before the crime has even been committed!

Originally Posted by jchappo

Why are you all getting so hot under the collar?!

Who's getting hot under the collar?

Surely, the sensible thing to do is to contact Hare & Forbes and let them know there is a problem.
Their reputation for after-sales service is second to none.
If (which is unlikely), they are uncooperative, then you can start thinking about your legal rights and Consumer Affairs.
Talk about vigilante justice - they (H&F) have been hung before the crime has even been committed!

Only one member has even mentioned consumer affairs, and certainly not me. Did I not already say this: - I'm not really concerned that they won't make it good. I'm sure they will. Quickly, I hope.

and this: - I'll ring them Monday morning, and back up the call with an email with the pic attached.

What vigilante justice?

I think it's more than reasonable for me to be a little upset anyway. After all, not only is the table warped but there are a myriad of other faults.

Edit: Perhaps I should have said nothing, not warned others of these potential failings in this machine and not asked for advice.

Sorry Steve,
I wasn't suggesting that you were getting hot under the collar, but some of the responses to your original post seemed to me to be a bit over the top.
I realise that your post was made more as a request for guidance, and I can understand how disappointing it can be to receive faulty goods.
However, I personally think that a fairer approach is to contact the supplier before posting in an open forum.
My own experiences with Hare & Forbes have always been good, with a fast, no fuss approach to fixing problems.
Hopefully you will get a satisfactory response when you contact them tomorrow.
In the interests of full disclosure, I have no connection with Hare & Forbes other than as a satisfied customer and occasional participant in woodturning demonstrations given by my club at H&F open days.

Originally Posted by jchappo

Sorry Steve,
I wasn't suggesting that you were getting hot under the collar, but some of the responses to your original post seemed to me to be a bit over the top.
I realise that your post was made more as a request for guidance, and I can understand how disappointing it can be to receive faulty goods.
However, I personally think that a fairer approach is to contact the supplier before posting in an open forum.
My own experiences with Hare & Forbes have always been good, with a fast, no fuss approach to fixing problems.
Hopefully you will get a satisfactory response when you contact them tomorrow.
In the interests of full disclosure, I have no connection with Hare & Forbes other than as a satisfied customer and occasional participant in woodturning demonstrations given by my club at H&F open days.

No problems. (Still not hot under the collar.)
Whether I posted before or after contacting them, I still would have posted - a review instead of this thread. Also, if anyone had known the milling cost and it was something like $20-$50, I'd do that before anything else to speed the process. Can't contact them until tomorrow either.

I'm not really knocking Hare and Forbes in general, since they come so highly recommended, except in as much as to say that if they claim to test goods before sending them out, well they didn't this time.

Anyway, I'm not badly concerned. It'll sort out.

Steve thats a terrible bow.
I can assure you having personally had to contact H&F regarding a problem and knowing others not on this forum whom have had problems of various sorts even with NON H&F goods (myself included). They go out of their way to "Keep the cutomer satisfied". I hope S&G forgive me.

Do a series of pictures of the table with the straight edge from different angles , send it to H&F with a copy of the invoice and request a new table .

The state of this table is bloody awuful to say the least, you cannot do accurate cuts if the table is warped in every direction.

Being CAST IRON, short of having it surface ground , you will not get it flat, Any engineering shop should be able to do this , cost would be another matter??

Jeff
vk4

Originally Posted by wheelinround

Steve thats a terrible bow.
I can assure you having personally had to contact H&F regarding a problem and knowing others not on this forum whom have had problems of various sorts even with NON H&F goods (myself included). They go out of their way to "Keep the cutomer satisfied". I hope S&G forgive me.

G'day Ray. I did a few cuts today, resting on the LHS of the table, and everything else is fine, so I can't wait to get this sorted. I'm sure they'll look after me.

On the technical side, there was a bit of drift when I first set it up, and I was just about to true things up by adjusting the rip fence angle parallel to the blade as many 'guides' suggest, when I stumbled across a video showing me the correct way to cure the problem, by fine-tuning the tracking until the blade rides on the exact centre of the wheels, making it square to the slots on the table. Sounded logical, so I did that, set the fence back to dead square, and perfect cuts with no drift over a 2-foot cut.
I learn something every day. Won't forget this one in a hurry.

Jeff, I will take a couple more pics in the morning from different angles. Good idea. The one I posted is a bit glary and distorted.

Originally Posted by Hermit

G'day Ray. I did a few cuts today, resting on the LHS of the table, and everything else is fine, so I can't wait to get this sorted. I'm sure they'll look after me.

On the technical side, there was a bit of drift when I first set it up, and I was just about to true things up by adjusting the rip fence angle parallel to the blade as many 'guides' suggest, when I stumbled across a video showing me the correct way to cure the problem, by fine-tuning the tracking until the blade rides on the exact centre of the wheels, making it square to the slots on the table. Sounded logical, so I did that, set the fence back to dead square, and perfect cuts with no drift over a 2-foot cut.
I learn something every day. Won't forget this one in a hurry.

Jeff, I will take a couple more pics in the morning from different angles. Good idea. The one I posted is a bit glary and distorted.

I sorted my drift thanks to Fletty the blade had nudged forward when I had slackend off after last using it, I had not opened the cabinet to check

Have you still the link to the video would be interesting to see.

Ray

Originally Posted by wheelinround

I sorted my drift thanks to Fletty the blade had nudged forward when I had slackend off after last using it, I had not opened the cabinet to check

Have you still the link to the video would be interesting to see.

Ray

No, sorry, it was one of a heap I watched the other night. Not really sure where it was to find again. I do have a chart I downloaded at the same time, though.

It takes a while to get the adjustment just right, so at times it'll be more efficient to quickly move the fence parallel to the blade's drift angle, but this is preferable.

Off to take some more pics and contact H&F.....

Hermit ,
I may have missed something here but I have a Carbatec BAS 350 and the table had a slight bow in it but that was rectified by fitting the fence which had an aluminium extrusion which attached to the table and had adjusting bolts underneath which you wound up until the table became flat.

The bow seemed to be a deliberate manufacturing feature or maybe the table bowed slightly when the tracks were milled in it ..dunno


Ian

Originally Posted by Ian Smith

Hermit ,
I may have missed something here but I have a Carbatec BAS 350 and the table had a slight bow in it but that was rectified by fitting the fence which had an aluminium extrusion which attached to the table and had adjusting bolts underneath which you wound up until the table became flat.

The bow seemed to be a deliberate manufacturing feature or maybe the table bowed slightly when the tracks were milled in it ..dunno


Ian

Are you sure that's the purpose of those bolts? Mine has them too, but I don't believe they're intended to straighten an intentionally bowed table. (I could be wrong, of course.) Also, the two bolts push up in the centre of the edge of the table - mine is bowed up. If I tighten those bolts really hard, it would bow the table even more.

Believe me, the bow will not be a deliberate manufacturing 'feature'.

Edit: I just sent the (3) pics off to H&F. This one I took this morning shows it best. It's a ripper of a bend: -

*** Also note the position of the LH blade guide adjuster. Out of adjustment. The bracket has slots that ran out of adjustment too. Only cure is to pull it apart and file longer slots in the bracket, to allow more adjustment. (Or try to get a longer brass adjuster made somewhere. I forgot to mention this to H&F.)

Ian, sorry if my reply sounded rude, I didn't mean to be. I just had another thought, went out and loosened the table clamp bolts in case the mountings were causing the table to bow. Checked with my breath held - no change, unfortunately. (Who would have had a red face if this was the case?)
I was thinking, too. I think I'm right about those two little bolts. They're only about 1 1/2" apart and look like that might possibly be their purpose, but in relity the much weaker aluminium extrusion should bend before the cast iron table, I would think. The two bolts are located directly over reinforcing ribs, too.

Hermit,
No offence taken.

I violated the code (again) and re-read the manual. On refreshing my memory it would seem that those adjusting bolts are not to take out any bend but rather to ensure both sides of the table at the blade slot were at the same height.

Probably should have checked this before posting rather than relying on my (faulty) memory but it was dark and cold in the shed and warm and toastie in the house last night

Sorry for the distraction.

Best of luck sorting your problem

Ian

Originally Posted by Ian Smith

Best of luck sorting your problem
Ian

Thanks. Just waiting for the reply from H&F after they see the pics.....

Actually, you've done me a favour. My manual didn't tell me what those bolts are for. It's for another model. (I told H&F that, too.)

It's being sorted out.
They're going to call me back tomorrow, after checking to see if they have one in stock. If I'm lucky I'll have the replacement by the end of the week. If I'm unlucky, it could be quite a while.

We haven't yet discussed how I'll get the bad one back to them. First things first.

I want to try for the correct manual, too, if it's available. (Good for spare part numbers.)